How to Get Started in Freelancing: Online Job Portal Sites

While freelancing isn’t a young concept in the Philippines anymore, it is getting more popular nowadays because of three major reasons:

Worsening traffic situations

Exposure to digital media and the internet

The need for additional income (due to rising living expenses)

The good news is, we shouldn’t be daunted with the idea of doing freelancing as we used to. There are vast resources to get us educated on how to get started. There are also many people who are already ahead on this which we can draw inspiration and tips from.

Freelancing is a wide career avenue and caters to numerous industries and professionals (or even to newbies). With the advent of the internet, it now spans to more types of niche to create more opportunities for people to earn more with their own time in their hands. And one of the best advantages of doing freelancing is the chance to work remotely.

Working remotely as a freelancer is considered a privilege for many here in the Philippines. Though it is a competitive working environment, we can still say that there are a lot of slots for everyone. The BPO is one major industry where one can start venturing into as a remote worker, and with the Philippines’ reputation as having the best BPO skills in the world, we are on-demand.

To help you get started, I rounded up a list of freelancing sites you can check out. Discover the opportunities you can take advantage with your current skills.

UpworkUpwork is one of the most popular remote job portal sites for freelancers in the Philippines, and is considered the largest freelance network site in the world. It is a merger of the two freelancing sites – Odesk and Elance, and is home to diverse opportunities for different skillsets.

LinkedInLinkedIn is actually the Facebook for professionals – it is a platform where professionals can expand its network within the same niche or industry. The said network attracts job headhunters in search of the best candidate for their openings. If you are serious in working on your edge in LinkedIn, it is best to upgrade in their LinkedIn Premium Account Career to access more advanced features.

FreelancerFreelancer is a freelance job portal with a twist since you have to bid your way through earning an opportunity to a project you are interested about. This allows you to personalize your offer for your services, depending on the client’s requirements and your capacity to fulfill it. This gives you the freedom to name your price and match it with your skills and experience.

Hubstaff TalentHubstaff Talent is a free freelance job platform, that is, no fees will be collected for every work secured here. However, you have to take the risk in finding your employer and securing your project and payment by yourself, especially in a remote setup.

Toptal A bit different from the first four I’ve mentioned, Toptal caters to an elite group of professionals like software developers, project and product managers, designers, and finance experts. It claims to have a rigorous screening process prior to accepting freelancers in its platform.

The list is long for freelancing platforms you can check out. Just take due diligence in checking the legitimacy of the jobs you will be applying to as there are many scammers taking advantage of the same network. I’ve rounded up this list to help you explore freelancing in a more secure way.

Remember that freelancing isn’t just a career option; it’s a lifestyle choice. Empowering yourself with the right mindset in establishing your value in the market will help you maximize its advantages, as well as give the best service to your employer.

Jonah Madrigallos is currently the Accounts Supervisor for iPresence Digital Marketing Inc., a remote digital marketing solutions company based in the Philippines. With her passion to drive change and expound the opportunities for the Filipinos through freelancing and home-based jobs, she climbed the ladder from being a Content Writer to Team Leader to Supervisor.

Author: Jonah Madrigallos

Jonah Madrigallos is currently the Accounts Supervisor for iPresence Digital Marketing Inc., a remote digital marketing solutions company based in the Philippines. With her passion to drive change and expound the opportunities for the Filipinos through freelancing and home-based jobs, she climbed the ladder from being a Content Writer to Team Leader to Supervisor.